The precedence order
1
1. Task rate
A rate set on the task itself. This beats everything else. There is no field for it on the task form today, so most workspaces never have one.
2
2. Project rate
That person’s rate on that project. Set on the project’s Team table under Project rate.
3
3. Person rate
That person’s normal rate. Set at Settings → Rates. This is the level most workspaces use.
4
4. Client rate
The client’s Default rate (per hour). A flat figure for everyone working on that client’s projects.
5
No rate found
The entry is saved with no billable value. It is not priced at zero – it is unpriced.
Cost rates do not have an order
Cost has only one source: the person cost rate. There is no task, project or client cost override, so there is nothing to resolve.The date matters too
Every rate has an Effective from date, and every level is resolved for the date of the time entry, not today. TimeTracker takes the newest row at each level whose effective date is on or before the entry’s date. A row dated in the future is ignored until its date arrives. Dates are handled as whole days, so a rate effective 1 April applies to work recorded at any hour on 1 April.Worked example
Sarah Lin tracks 4 hours on the Bluebird Coffee – Website Redesign project on 10 March 2026.4 × $110 = $440.
Now Sarah tracks 4 hours on Fenwick Legal – Brand Refresh on the same day. That project has no override and Fenwick Legal has no default rate:
4 × $100 = $400.
Her cost is the same in both cases: 4 × $45 = $180. Cost never varies by project.
How the currency is chosen
The currency comes from the level that won, not from the workspace.
A task rate is a number only, so an entry priced by a task rate uses the workspace base currency.
Set your base currency at Settings → General → Base currency. See /rates/currencies-and-exchange-rates.
When a rate is applied
The rate is resolved once, when the time entry is saved, and stored on the entry. Nothing re-resolves it later. That is why editing a rate does not restate an old entry, and why the number on an invoice never drifts. See /rates/rate-snapshots.Diagnosing a number that looks wrong
Work down the list in order. The first level with a rate is your answer.1
Check the entry's date
Rates resolve for the day the work was done. A rate effective 1 April does not price work from 20 March.
2
Check the project override
Open the project → Settings → Team. If the Project rate column shows a figure for that person instead of Inherits, that is the winner.
3
Check the person rate
Open Settings → Rates and read the rate in force on the entry’s date, not today’s rate. The Rate history table shows every dated row.
4
Check the client default
Open the client record and look at Default rate (per hour).
5
Check the entry itself
The entry was priced when it was saved. If a rate was added afterwards, the entry still carries the old figure – or none at all.
Permissions
A request for the resolved rates returns the cost figure only to someone who holds
rate.viewCost. See /rates/rate-permissions.
Common questions
Is there a workspace default rate?
Is there a workspace default rate?
No. The workspace sets the base currency, not a rate. If no level has a rate, the hour is unpriced.
Does a client rate override a person rate?
Does a client rate override a person rate?
No – it is the other way round. The person rate is more specific, so it wins. A client rate only applies to people who have no rate of their own.
Can I have a project rate for one person and inherit for everyone else?
Can I have a project rate for one person and inherit for everyone else?
Yes. The override is per person, per project. Anyone left on Inherits falls through to their person rate.
Why does one entry have a currency and another does not?
Why does one entry have a currency and another does not?
An entry only has a currency when a rate resolved. An unpriced entry has neither.
Does the rate follow the person or the assignee of the task?
Does the rate follow the person or the assignee of the task?
The person who tracked the time. Rates price whoever did the work.
Troubleshooting
Related guides
Billable rates
What the winning rate produces.
Cost rates
Why cost has no order.
Project and client rates
The two override levels.
Set a person rate
The level most workspaces use.
Rate snapshots
Why the answer is fixed at save time.
Currencies and exchange rates
How the currency is decided.